David Nicolato has been a multi-media artist for the last 35 years. After graduating from Mason Gross School of the Arts, at Rutgers University, in 1996, David began designing and constructing many fashion-based works with found objects. Chicken wire jackets, plastic tube vests and backpacks-turned-tops were a few of his original creations. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s he participated in many local group shows and juried competitions, including two with The Lotus Studios Artists Group in Highland Park. Becoming a member of the Monmouth County Arts Society in 2007, he was able to secure shows throughout Monmouth and Middlesex counties from 2009-2012.
He moved to Essex County in 2011. He soon achieved two solo shows at the Gallery at the Tides Hotel in Asbury Park in 2011 and 2012. Afterwards, he became a regular exhibiting artist with Gallery U in Montclair and Westfield. In 2017, he began showing in galleries on the west coast in Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In later 2013 he was involved in numerous group show at Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
In 2016, he started working in Jersey City as a teacher and discovered the city’s flourishing art community. Through submitting and exhibiting his work, he met many curators, gallery owners and other artists who were and still are committed to making this city a hub for the arts.
Nicolato’s work has been exhibited around the world.
He lives in Verona, NJ.
Statement:
The images I make in my artwork are those of fantasy and whimsy. My fascination with animals, faeries, monsters and otherworldly entities always seems to surface as I sit down to draw or make a book or painting.
This love of the fantastical began with my reading of the Alice books by Lewis Carroll. Throughout the stories, Alice is bombarded by these otherworldly creatures, these nonsensical beings who appear in her reality and then after a short song or poem, disappear just as fast. Alice is left there, bewildered by these experiences but yet a little more aware of what her real world actually is.
So, when I draw my characters, or put them into a book or painting, I am hoping that the viewer will get a similar experience. I want their encounter with these creatures to be one of whimsy but also of realization. I want them to better understand that these imagined beings are a part of my world and would love to be a part of theirs. They have a lot to say.
poppaperdn@gmail.com